Demand for increasingly smaller and thinner electronic devices, such as cell phones and the like, drives the need to increase electronic component density on printed circuit boards. One mechanism for increasing electronic component density is the use of a dual sided electronic module, sometimes referred to as a three-dimensional (3D) electronic module or package. A dual sided electronic module typically includes a laminate substrate that has a first die affixed to a top surface of the substrate and a second die affixed to a bottom surface of the substrate. Each die is encapsulated for protection. Encapsulation may involve using a molding process to protect the first die and a dispensing process for protecting the second die. The bottom surface of a dual sided electronic module typically includes ball grid array (BGA) contacts of sufficient diameter to ensure the second die does not come into contact with the surface of the printed circuit board to which the dual sided electronic module will be attached.
While a dual sided electronic module can increase lateral density on a printed circuit board, dual sided electronic modules are typically thicker than single sided electronic modules. Thus, the use of a dual sided electronic module may include a tradeoff between a decrease in space utilization in one dimension and an increase in space utilization in another dimension. Moreover, multiple process steps are required to encapsulate the two dies, which adds time, complexity, and materials compared to making a single sided electronic module. Thus, there is a need for a dual sided electronic module that can be encapsulated in a single step to reduce multiple processing steps, materials, and time. It would be further beneficial if a dual sided electronic module could be manufactured with a substantially flat bottom surface that reduces overall width of the dual sided electronic module and eliminates a need for BGA contacts.